Red Deer Downtown Business Association
Downtown Business Spotlight: U Pick Koffee
This week’s Business Spotlight shines on U Pick Koffee! Located at 4710 51 Ave, this local shop has everything you need for your Keurig K-Cup stock. We sat down with the general manager, Ken Van Someren, to learn more about this business!
What is your business?
Our business is U Pick Koffee, here in Red Deer. We have only been in business for a couple of months. Our main product line is Keurig K-Cups. We specialize in the mix-and-match program, where you can buy many pods of different kinds to try and find a new favorite pod!
When did you open?
We opened officially on the 1st of September and our operating hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m, Monday through Friday as well as 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday.
What would you say makes your business unique?
I think it’s unique because of the mix-and-match program. You can buy K-Cups in a number of grocery stores, but we have a much bigger variety. We are working towards getting up to 250 to 300 different varieties. We have regular coffee, decaf coffee, we have teas, we have flavored coffees, we have dark roasts—all the roasts that you could want! And we have some that are even on special. Also, we don’t have an exact date yet, but you can check our Facebook page and Website because we will be having a coffee tasting night in November!
What are some products/services that you offer?
The products we carry are of all varieties, we don’t carry just Folgers. We’ve got Timothy’s. Tim Horton’s, Van Houtte, Torani, and Starbucks. We have pretty much all of them and we’re getting more in all the time. We’ll soon have some Christmas special ones in— a Christmas hot chocolate is coming! We also sell regular bean and ground coffee from two suppliers right now. They’re both unique to this area and you can’t buy them in just any grocery store. One is White Frog Café, from Sylvan Lake. There is only a couple of us in Red Deer that sell it, and we have grounds and beans. We also have coffee from a company called Rampage Coffee, they are out of Saskatoon. We have beans and grounds from them, and we’re the only ones in Central Alberta that are selling that product.
Why did you choose Downtown Red Deer as the location for your business?
We wanted somewhere that there would be visibility. We didn’t want to go into a mall where we were mandated to the hours that we can open. We wanted good exposure and we found that in Downtown Red Deer.
What do you think makes Downtown vibrant?
I think it’s the people that are Downtown and working together to make it better. Although there is a lot of empty spots Downtown right now, the ones that are there are really into the Downtown and want to make it even more vibrant. I think the City is working on that as well, leaving the patio open this year. I think that’s a good idea. There are things that need to happen, and they will happen!
I love Downtown Red Deer because… The people are friendly, and the businesses are inviting. People don’t want to go to malls all the time!
If you’re looking for a place that offers a wide variety of coffee and specialized K-Cups, look no further than U Pick Koffee!
Website: https://upickkoffee.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upickkoffeerd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UPickKoffeerd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uPickKoffeerd
Council approves 2024 DBA budget, increased investment in events
“The DBA remains steadfast in its objective to build on the growth seen in 2023. The collaboration between The City of Red and the DBA is at all time high and with the pending actions set to be delivered through the Downtown Activation Playbook, I know there are many great things to come that will support our business community and create the thriving downtown we all want to experience,” said Amanda Gould, DBA Executive Director.
“Today Council demonstrated their commitment to their strategic priorities with the support shown to the DBA through unanimous support of the 2024 budget. This mighty Association continues to do great work on a shoestring budget and the 2024 Board of Directors are keen to lend their expertise and entrepreneurial skills to benefit the downtown in its entirety.”
Brandon Bouchard, DBA Board Chair
The DBA’s budget is partially funded through the BIA tax levy, which is collected by The City of Red Deer. Each year, the DBA presents its proposed budget to Council for their consideration. When reviewing the budget, Council considers alignment between the DBA’s downtown priorities and City’s community priorities.
“DBA has constantly hit far above its weight in our downtown, I can’t think of a more supportive messenger of promotion than the team at the DBA, it’s so encouraging to see this strong support for our downtown,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “I’m encouraged by the leadership and direction of the DBA and look forward to what they have in store for 2024. They continually bring positive initiatives to the downtown even with the constraint on finances.”
The DBA’s total approved budget for 2024 is $775,160, with $277,725 funded through the BIA with the remaining amount funded through items such as grants and contracts. The BIA portion for 2024 is an increase of five per cent from 2023.
The Downtown Business Association has been operating in Red Deer for more than 30 years, serving approximately 350 business owners in the Downtown area. Through partnerships and leadership in advocacy and promotion, the DBA is the catalyst for a vibrant and prosperous downtown that is the place to live, work, play and do business.
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